This is an academic paper that provides an overview of the current state of joint criminal justice and healthcare interventions to address the opioid crisis that have been evaluated in the peer-reviewed literature. Few programs were found although they were found to be effective, highlighting the need for evaluating existing collaborative programs and the creation of new ones. 

This academic paper addresses the fact that many currently employed interventions (prescriber guidelines, prescription monitoring programs, naloxone rescue) address the prevention of OUD or downstream complications but not treatment of the underlying disorder itself.

An OUD Cascade of Care framework could help structure local and national efforts to combat the opioid crisis by identifying key targets, interventions, and quality indicators across populations and settings to achieve these ends. Improved data collection and reporting methodology will be imperative.

This is a peer-reviewed evaluation of six overdose training and naloxone distribution programs in the United States (Chicago, NYC, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New Mexico).

This database from the CDC allows users to examine prevalence of and trends in nonfatal overdoses for 47 states and the District of Columbia beginning in 2018. 

This report assesses drug checking programs in the United States and other countries in order to better understand them and inform potential opportunities for studying fentanyl drug checking as a harm reduction strategy. This review describes strategies used by drug checking programs and their effectiveness in changing drug use attitudes, behavior, and health outcomes. 

This is a report from the Drug Policy Alliance that gives a history and overview of decriminalization of drug use in Portugal, its effects on treatment and harm reduction, and the impact on health outcomes and the criminal justice system. 

This toolkit from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center helps stakeholders select and implement prevention programs in their communities. It describes successful program models for both substance use prevention and overdose prevention. 

The Drug Policy Alliance is a nonprofit organization that aims to advance sensible policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition. Their website provides resources and educational material on criminal justice reform, harm reduction, and the war on drugs. 

This academic paper conducted a review of existing literature describing new services and service modifications implemented by treatment and harm reduction programs serving people who use opioids, and also discusses implications for policy and practice. The authors set their literature review in the specific time frame of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to analyze how the pandemic impacted these programs. 

This is a report which describes how to develop a more coordinated and comprehensive health education system in regards to opioid use disorder. The report provides information on the current health professional education environment and also a survey of its regulations. The literature review specifically focuses on the education of medical professionals involved in pain management and the substance use disorder workforce. 

This is a report from the Maryland Hospital Association that provides recommendations to hospitals on protocols in place for patients treated for an overdose or identified as having a substance use disorder. These protocols include universal screening, naloxone access, facilitated referrals, and peer recovery coaches. 

This is an academic paper that provides a scoping review of post-overdose responses implemented by emergency medical services (EMS). 27 programs were identified with themes including providing harm reduction in the community, integration with law enforcement, innovative community outreach, and inclusion of peer support.